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Buckles and Spurs

Kelsi Eastman competed in her first rodeo at age three, and she’s been in the saddle ever since

Photos | Alisha Jucevic

Before roping practice at the Para Hevea Equine Facility, Eastman practices goat tying. For this rodeo event, competitors ride their horses to the end of the arena to a goat staked on a rope. The riders must dismount their horses while in motion, run to the goat, get it on its side and tie its legs together. The goat’s legs must remain tied for six seconds, and the contestant with the fastest time wins.

Eastman feeds and waters her horses at 5:30 a.m. before a Prineville rodeo so they have time to digest before their first competition. “You have to maintain them and keep them in shape and give them good feed. It’s like getting them ready for track season,” she says.

Eastman dismounts her horse Stanley at full speed, running toward a goat ahead of her in a goat tying event. Though rodeo is a competitive sport, Eastman says everyone is supportive of one another and she always looks forward to seeing her friends at rodeos around the Northwest. “Everyone wants to help out,” she says. “You’re excited when you win, but you are also excited for other people to do good, because I know all the other top people out there work just as hard as me or harder.”

Eastman sits comfortably in a saddle at Double “H” Western Wear Ranch & Feed Store, where she buys feed and medicine for her horses. She feeds her horses a mixture of alfalfa and grass, depending on what they need.

Eastman cares for a cut on her horse Tex’s back after she cleans stalls. She pays close attention to her horses’ health. “I know when they get mad and I know when they are sore. Someone can get on their horse and not even know what the difference is between when they are healthy and when they’re not. I know my horses pretty much inside and out,” Eastman says.

Eastman takes off her purple Nike’s and slips on her black cowboy boots when she arrives at the barn. She wears custom initial spurs and says her ostrich boots are her favorite.

Belt buckles are awarded to rodeo champions in most of the large competitions. Eastman’s family has a collection of buckles they’ve won over the years. Her brothers ride bulls, her stepfather ropes, and her mother also grew up riding.

Eastman leads her horses into their trailer after roping practice. She and her stepfather drive nearly an hour to Molalla, Oregon on Tuesday and Friday nights to practice breakaway and team roping. In these events, riders run into the arena and attempt to throw a lasso around the neck and legs of a running calf.

Eastman practices team roping with David Kelly at Para Hevea Equine Facility in Molalla, Oregon. Eastman’s stepfather, Kevin Stickley, coaches her in breakaway roping and team roping. “He’s always been to all of my practices and pays attention just as much as I do,” Eastman says. “He’s able to tell me what I am doing wrong and what I need to fix and how to make me better and faster and just as tough as all the other girls.”

Eastman dismounts her horse Stanley at full speed, running toward a goat ahead of her in a goat tying event. Though rodeo is a competitive sport, Eastman says everyone is supportive of one another and she always looks forward to seeing her friends at rodeos around the Northwest. “Everyone wants to help out,” she says. “You’re excited when you win, but you are also excited for other people to do good, because I know all the other top people out there work just as hard as me or harder.”

Kelsi Eastman competed in her first rodeo at age three, and she’s been in the saddle ever since. “I always ride horses with my mom. She would just carry me or put me in a backpack, and off we went,” Eastman says.

Now a senior at McNary High School in Keizer, Oregon, Eastman remains dedicated to her horses and to rodeo. Though she balances school with a part-time job that helps pay for horse supplies, her priorities have not changed. She cuts down on outside activities to free up her time, and even missed her senior prom to compete in a rodeo.

“My goal is always to be the best at rodeo I can be and just get better every year, so you just kind of forget about everything else,” says Eastman. “I’ve just grown up with it my whole life.”

She has competed in some sort of rodeo association every year since she was a child: the Northwest Junior Rodeo, the Junior High School Rodeo, and the Oregon High School Rodeo. “I’ll have horses forever, and I hope when I am older I can train horses,” she says.

Next year, Eastman will most likely attend Chemeketa Community College and compete as an independent rider in college rodeo. She hopes to transfer to a four-year college rodeo team, and compete in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and the National Finals Rodeo.